Los Angeles, California, Department of Water and Power Governance Charter Amendment, Measure RRR (November 2016)
| Measure RRR: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Governance Charter Amendment |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 8, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Defeated
|
| Topic: |
| City governance |
| Related articles |
| City governance on the ballot November 8, 2016 ballot measures in California Los Angeles County, California ballot measures Local charter amendments on the ballot |
| See also |
| Los Angeles, California |
A department of water and power charter amendment was on the ballot for Los Angeles voters in Los Angeles County, California, on November 8, 2016. It was defeated.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to make various changes to the governance of the Department of Water and Power (DWP), including increasing the number of board members from five to seven, decreasing the term length from five to four years, establishing qualification requirements and a removal and appeal process for board members, requiring a four-year plan to the city council and mayor for rates and revenue requirements, and allowing the DWP to approve any action that falls within that general plan once approved by the city council and mayor. |
| A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter to make various changes to the governance of the Department of Water and Power (DWP), including increasing the number of board members from five to seven, decreasing the term length from five to four years, establishing qualification requirements and a removal and appeal process for board members, requiring a four-year plan to the city council and mayor for rates and revenue requirements, and allowing the DWP to approve any action that falls within that general plan once approved by the city council and mayor. |
Election results
| Measure RRR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| No | 557,955 | 50.87% | ||
| Yes | 538,941 | 49.13% | ||
- Election results from Los Angeles County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ |
CITY OF LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER (DWP). CHARTER AMENDMENT RRR. Shall the Charter be amended to: (1) add qualification requirements, stipends and removal protections for DWP Board; (2) expand Board to seven members; (3) require DWP prepare four-year Strategic Plans for Council and Mayoral approval; (4) modify DWP’s contracting, rate-setting and other authority; (5) permit future alternatives to existing civil service standards for DWP employees through collective bargaining; and (6) require monthly billing?[2] |
” |
Ballot summary
The following summary of Measure RRR was provided by the city elections office:[1]
| “ |
THE SITUATION: DWP is a City-owned utility. DWP is governed by a Board appointed by the Mayor, and approved by the City Council. The Board sets rates with Council and Mayoral approval. DWP bills residential customers every two months. The City has identified the need for improvements regarding oversight, transparency and operations of DWP. THE PROPOSAL: This measure would amend the Charter to:
A YES VOTE MEANS: You want to change DWP’s governance and administrative functions. A NO VOTE MEANS: You do not want to change DWP’s governance and administrative functions[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Sharon M. Tso, Chief Legislative Analyst:
| “ |
The proposed measure would amend the Los Angeles City Charter (Charter) as it relates to the Department of Water and Power’s (DWP) governance and administrative functions. The purpose for these changes is to increase oversight, transparency and streamline operations of the DWP. The proposed amendments fall into several categories highlighted below. Board Composition and Qualifications The measure would increase the Board of Water and Power Commissioners (Board) from five to seven members, shorten the Board term from five years to four years; require Board members to have experience in areas such as utility management, environmental policy, business, labor relations or community organizations; and allow for a stipend set by ordinance. The measure would also establish a removal and appeal process for Board members. General Manager Appointment Currently, the Board appoints the General Manager of the DWP, subject to Mayor and Council confirmation. The measure would modify the appointment process by requiring the Personnel Department to recruit highly qualified candidates for the Board to review. The Board would provide a pool of candidates to the Mayor from which the Mayor would select a candidate for appointment as General Manager, subject to Council confirmation. Office of Public Accountability (OPA) The measure would provide that the OPA’s Executive Director may be appointed to a second five-year term by the Council, subject to Mayoral concurrence and would also increase the minimum budget for the OPA from 0.025 percent to 0.050 percent of revenues generated from the sale of water and electricity for the previous fiscal year. 61 Water and Power Analyst (WPA) Office The measure establishes the WPA Office to provide policy and fiscal analysis for the Board. The Board would have the power to appoint and remove an Executive Director for the Office. Strategic Plan and Rates The measure provides that beginning on January 1, 2020, the Board shall submit a four-year strategic/revenue requirement and rate-setting plan (Plan), including potential rates, to the Council and Mayor for consideration. Once the Plan has been approved by the Council and Mayor, all projects and revenue requirements within the Plan shall require Board approval only. Any components that exceed the parameters of the Plan shall require Council and Mayoral approval. Contracting The measure would expand the Board’s contracting authority by no longer requiring Council approval for certain contracts. Specifically, the measure would eliminate the Charter requirement that franchises, licenses and leases over five years, but less than 30 years, be approved by Council after Board adoption. The measure would also permit the Board to award such contracts as design-build contracts, with criteria established by the Board. Currently, the Charter requires that this criteria be established by Council. The measure would eliminate the Charter requirement that all power contracts be approved by ordinance. The Council would maintain its authority to review these contracts except those under a threshold established by ordinance. Alternative Civil Service Standards and Salary Setting Authority The measure would allow the Council to approve alternatives to civil service standards for DWP employees, pursuant to a legally binding memorandum of understanding developed through collective bargaining. The alternative standards must provide for merit based hiring, retention and discharge provisions. The Council would conduct periodic audits of the standards. The Council may delegate its authority to the Board to set salaries for DWP employees and may also revoke any delegation of authority. Monthly Billing The measure would require the DWP to implement a monthly billing cycle beginning no later than July 1, 2020. This Charter Amendment will become effective if approved by a majority of voters. [2] |
” |
| —Sharon M. Tso, Chief Legislative Analyst[1] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed the official argument in favor of the measure:[1]
- Dr. Frederick Pickel, Ratepayer Advocate, City of Los Angeles
- Marcie Edwards, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
- Mel Levine, President, Board of Water and Power, Commissioners, City of Los Angeles
- Jill Banks Barad, Founder and Chair, Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils
- Veronica Padilla-Campos, Executive Director, Pacoima Beautiful
- Jonathon Parfrey, Executive Director, Climate Resolve
- Tony Wilkinson, Chair, Neighborhood Council-DWP, MOU Committee
- Stuart Waldman, President, Valley Industry & Commerce Association
- Jessica Goodheart, Repower LA Project Director, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
- Bruce Saito, Executive Director Emeritus, Los Angeles Conservation Corps
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[1]
| “ |
REFORM THE DWP – VOTE YES ON RRR The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has been an example of bureaucratic inefficiency for too long – Charter Amendment RRR will change that, reforming the DWP so it is more accountable, transparent, and responsive to ratepayers. YES ON RRR, the DWP Reform Plan: – Increases accountability and oversight at DWP; – Requires DWP to issue a strategic plan every four years; – Reduces billing periods to monthly instead of every two months – Increases the number of experienced citizen and ratepayer representatives on the DWP Board. Charter Amendment RRR reforms the DWP, the utility that provides our electricity, water, and billing for our sewer and trash service, to make it more transparent and accountable to City of Los Angeles residents. Charter Amendment RRR will cut red tape in contracting and hiring, making it faster, more transparent, and accountable. Increased accountability will reduce roadblocks like those that led to a failed billing system, and make DWP more responsive to the needs of ratepayers, neighborhoods, and local businesses. Charter Amendment RRR will help curb rate increases by slashing waste and duplication, improving efficiency, and requiring more transparent strategic and financial planning. Charter Amendment RRR increases oversight of the utility, improving rules covering personnel and contracting to make them fairer, more responsive to ratepayers rather than bureaucrats, and requiring board members have relevant experience to oversee the utility. Charter Amendment RRR is supported by community leaders, environmentalists, and ratepayer advocates like Dr. Frederick Pickel, our City of Los Angeles DWP Ratepayer Advocate. DON’T DELAY REFORM! Vote Yes on Charter Amendment RRR. VOTE Yes for REFORM! Vote Yes on Charter Amendment RRR.[2] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals signed the official argument against the measure:[1]
- Pasto William D. Smart, JR., Fix L.A. Coalition
- Laura N. Chick, LA City Controller (ret.)
- Erwin Chemerinsky, Former Chair, Elected Los Angeles Charter President,
Reform Commission
- Jerilyn Stapleton, California National Organization for Women (NOW)
- Ed Begley, Jr., Environmentalist
- Jamie Court, President, Consumer Watchdog
- Nate Holden, Senator / L.A. City Council Member (Ret.)
- Brenna Norton, Senior Southern California Organizer, Food and Water Watch
- Conner Everts, Executive Director, President, Southern California Watershed Alliance
- Richard Close, Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[1]
| “ |
Don’t believe the false claims that this measure is “reform.” Charter Amendment RRR is a powergrab by the DWP that gives voters less oversight over the DWP— not more. The DWP has been plagued by dysfunction and mismanagement for years. This measure takes away voters’ decision-making powers and accountability over the DWP by enabling unelected bureaucrats to run the department and determine rate hikes. This measure gives the DWP Board the extraordinary power to spend millions of ratepayer dollars on contracts, rate hikes, and salaries without preserving currently existing oversight and approvals from voters and elected officials. The DWP needs serious overhaul and reform, but this reckless proposal takes us backwards and does not reflect the good-government changes that ratepayers want and need. In fact, this measure limits scrutiny over the DWP and decreases transparency by eliminating existing checks and balances. This measure severely restricts voters’ power over DWP operations and rate hikes, and gives voters less of a say on clean water and renewable energy policies. Making matters worse, this measure gives the DWP Commissioners, currently appointed citizen volunteers, ratepayer funded pay that could total as much as $2 million throughout the next decade. This measure also opens the door to corruption and unethical hiring of friends and family by allowing the department to opt out of the civil service system. This proposal could easily lead to mismanagement of our most precious resource: our water. If this misleading measure passes, the mayor won’t have final authority to fire unelected and unaccountable DWP Board Members, who will have unprecedented power and control over rate hikes. Vote NO on Charter Amendment RRR— the DWP power-grab. It’s misleading, worse than the status quo, and doesn’t represent the real change we need at DWP.[2] |
” |
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of Los Angeles, California.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Los Angeles City governance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2026 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
